Audi unveils Audi Charging starting 2023
Audi has unveiled its new charging service, Audi Charging, which will replace the existing e-tron Charging service in the new year. Audi Charging will launch in 27 countries, including Germany, on 1 January 2023 and will be expanded later in the year.
The new service will offer access to around 400,000 charging points from more than 800 operators, including Ionity. The new charging service is not just a change of branding but also a change of the provider behind it. Audi is now working with Volkswagen Group Charging GmbH and its Elli brand for its new charging service.
The e-tron Charging Service that was launched in 2019 was still offered in cooperation with Digital Charging Solutions (a joint venture of BMW, Mercedes and BP). The VW Group’s charging subsidiary was founded later, and operates charging services for the VW, Skoda and Seat/Cupra brands, among others. Since Audi is of course part of the Volkswagen Group, a change from Audi to Volkswagen Group Charging GmbH was a fairly natural move to come sooner or later.
Audi Charging offers three tariffs (as do the services of the other VW Group brands) called Basic, Plus and Pro. As with the well-known Elli services, there are different prices in each European country, so we will concentrate on the electrive home country of Germany at this point:
Apart from the peculiarities of the Audi Charging Hub and the discounted 35 cents/kWh for frequent drivers with Ionity, the new Audi tariffs are, therefore, slightly more expensive across the board than the charging tariffs for the VW Group’s volume brands, which will be standardised in April 2022. It is not yet clear whether these will remain cheaper or whether they will also be raised to the Audi level at the beginning of 2023.
Audi promises its customers “full transparency about the expected charging costs” from the prices set for each country before the start of a trip abroad. Audi says that these prices are fixed but differ from the rates in Germany.
When buying a new all-electric Audi, the manufacturer will pay the basic fee of the Pro tariff of 14.99 euros/month for one year, so customers save 179.88 euros. Afterwards, customers can manage their contract online or via the “myAudi” app and book another tariff “with just a few clicks”.
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